Hurricanes' Potentially Long-Term Impact on Students Noted

Many of the approximately 200,000 Louisiana students displaced from their public schools by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may continue experiencing long-term academic problems, a study suggests.

Most of the students missed weeks or more of school in the aftermath of the storms last year, says the report, released by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based RAND Corp. Some students felt unprepared for classes in their new schools, and students' academic problems were exacerbated by having to adjust to new social environments and the trauma of the hurricanes themselves. All of those experiences could have a negative impact on students' learning for years to come, the study says.